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News Corp. Acquires Social Video Ad Platform Unruly

Deal Valued Up to $176 Million

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News Corp. is acquiring the social video advertising platform Unruly for up to $176 million, the company announced Wednesday.

"Unruly is a feisty and creative company with a startup sensibility that fits perfectly with our own approach to developing businesses in the digital age," Robert Thomson, chief executive of News Corp., said in a statement.

Unruly, which launched in 2006, tracks video shareability to predict the viral nature of content for advertisers. Unruly utilizes its data set of 2 trillion video views and sophisticated targeting capabilities, as well as historical sharing behavior to predict the potential for video ads to go viral.

Mr. Thomas added that Unruly will serve as a catalyst for News Corp. brands and help the company extend its "expertise in the digital and mobile video area" for its business like realtor.com and HarperCollins Publishers, among others.

Unruly complements our traditional editorial and commercial expertise with contemporary insight into how people read, watch, buy and sell in the digital era," he said.

Unruly will operate as a separate business unit led by its co-founders and report to Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News UK. It will also continue to work with its existing roster of global advertisers and publishers.

"We have always been pioneers in our field, so combining the formidable reach and resonance of our titles with their cutting-edge technology and video expertise will help accelerate our growth in this digital age," Ms. Brooks said in a statement. "We look forward to working with one of Europe's most highly regarded tech teams to create new premium video inventory for our News UK mastheads and other businesses, and to provide advertisers with best-in-class brand solutions across all platforms."

News Corp. will purchase Unruly for $90 million in cash and up to $86 million in future consideration primarily related to payments contingent upon the achievement of certain performance objectives.